United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2021
Transit to Trails Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish the Transit to Trails Grant Program to award grants to certain governmental and private entities for projects that increase transportation access and mobility to public lands, inland and coastal waters, parkland, or monuments for critically underserved communities. For example, DOT must (1) prioritize approving certain projects, such as projects that use low-or zero-emission vehicles and those that provide free or discounted rates for low-income riders; (2) develop transportation planning procedures for projects conducted under the program that are consistent with metropolitan and statewide planning processes; and (3) ensure that all new transportation connectors and routes developed under the program are accessible to people with disabilities. The bill requires grant awards to be at least $25,000 and not more than $500,000. Further, the bill requires publicized schedules and routes for transportation systems that are developed after the receipt of a grant under the program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2021
EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes the EB-5 Regional Center program through FY2026 and makes various changes to the program, such as imposing various oversight requirements. (EB-5 visas provide permanent resident status to qualified alien investors. A regional center allows EB-5 aliens to pool investments to meet various investment and job creation requirements.) Oversight-related provisions include requiring each center to (1) notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of proposed changes to the center's structure, (2) maintain certain records and make such records available to DHS for audits, (3) obtain approval for each particular investment offering, and (4) annually report to DHS. The bill prohibits certain individuals and entities from involvement in a center, such as (1) a person who had committed a violation involving fraud in the previous 10 years, (2) a non-U.S. national not admitted for permanent residence, or (3) a foreign government official. DHS shall deny petitions, such as a petition to certify a regional center or to classify an alien as an alien investor, if approval would threaten U.S. national interest. The bill provides various enforcement authority to DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, including the ability to permanently bar an individual from participating in the regional center program. The bill establishes the EB-5 Integrity Fund to fund program enforcement activities. The bill contains various provisions related to EB-5 petitions, such as a provision authorizing DHS to extend an alien's conditional permanent residence status.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2021
Homecare for Seniors Act This bill allows tax-exempt distributions from health savings accounts (HSAs) to be used for qualified home care. Qualified home care means a contract to provide three or more of the following services in the residence of the service recipient assistance with eating, assistance with toileting, assistance with transferring, assistance with bathing, assistance with dressing, assistance with continence, and medication adherence. The Department of Health and Human Services must carry out a campaign to increase public awareness of the in-home service expenses that are eligible for tax-free distribution from HSAs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the "Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2021
Puppy Protection Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to expand standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals to include new requirements for commercial dog dealers. Specifically, the standards must require dog dealers to provide to dogs adequate housing, exercise, and veterinary care; appropriate and nutritious food; continuous access to potable water; and meaningful socialization with humans and compatible dogs for at least 30 minutes each day. The standards must also include requirements for breeders to use safe breeding practices and make all reasonable efforts to find humane placement for retired breeding dogs.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Legacy Roads and Trails Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program. Specifically, under the program, the Forest Service, taking into account predicted changes in weather and hydrology related to global climate change, shall carry out storm damage risk reduction, including deferred maintenance, repairs, road and trail relocation, and associated activities on roads, trails, tunnels, and bridges under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service; restore waterways and natural migration of fish and other aquatic species by removing or replacing culverts or other infrastructure from such waterways; and decommission unneeded roads. In implementing the program, the Forest Service shall give priority to projects that protect or restore water quality and watershed function; a watershed that supplies a public drinking water system; the habitat of a threatened, endangered, or sensitive fish or wildlife species, or a species of conservation concern; or a watershed for which the Forest Service has completed a watershed protection and restoration action plan. The Forest Service shall identify the minimum road system needed for each unit of the National Forest System. USDA shall review, and may revise, an identification of the minimum road system in accordance with federal regulations relating to the administration of the forest transportation system.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act This bill addresses the protection and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, which are vegetated coastal habitats and include mangroves, tidal marshes, and other tidal or salt water wetland that have the ability to sequester and store carbon. Specifically, the bill establishes the Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon to (1) develop and maintain a map of these ecosystems, (2) assess the impediments to the protection and restoration of these ecosystems, and (3) establish national protection and restoration priorities regarding these ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must chair the group and establish a national goal for conserving ocean and coastal blue carbon ecosystems within the territory of the United States and set targets to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems as appropriate. NOAA must also (1) establish integrated pilot programs to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and (2) enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess the long-term effects of geologic stores of carbon dioxide in a deep seafloor environment. Finally, the bill establishes requirements concerning the stewardship and standardization of blue carbon data in the Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act This bill removes limitations on the civil liability of gun manufacturers and the disclosure of gun trace data in civil actions. Specifically, the bill repeals the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which prohibits civil actions against a firearm or ammunition manufacturer, seller, importer, dealer, or trade association for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Additionally, the bill states that firearms trace data maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is not immune from legal process. Such data is subject to discovery; is admissible as evidence; and may be used, relied on, or disclosed in a civil action or administrative proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2021 This bill provides funding for (1) the conservation or restoration of wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need; (2) the wildlife conservation strategies of states, territories, or the District of Columbia; and (3) wildlife conservation education and recreation projects. The Department of the Interior must use a portion of the funding for a grant program. The grants must be used for innovative recovery efforts for species of greatest conservation need, species listed as endangered or threatened species, or the habitats of such species.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 20 21 This bill addresses the sale of shark fins and the inclusion of rays and skates in the Seafood Traceability Program. The Seafood Traceability Program has data reporting and recordkeeping requirements at the time of entry for imported fish or fish products entered into U.S. commerce. The bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances. Penalties are imposed for violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Department of Commerce must revise its regulations to include rays and skates as species that are subject to the Seafood Traceability Program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Sunshine in Product Safety Act of 2021 This bill repeals the limitation on the Consumer Product Safety Commission from disclosing information about a consumer product that may reveal the identity of the product's manufacturer without first taking reasonable steps to ensure that the information is accurate and that releasing the information to the public serves the purposes of the laws administered by the commission.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2021
Child Care for Working Families Act This bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. The bill also allocates program funds for states to provide services and supports to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. Further, the bill revises the program to require each state to create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; ensure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of its household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as increasing the supply of child care providers. The bill also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must make grants to Head Start agencies to provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or enhance the quality of existing services. Finally, the bill requires, and provides funds for, HHS to assist Head Start agencies with ensuring their teachers and staff are paid a living wage.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
VA Peer Support Enhancement for MST Survivors Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that each individual who files a claim relating to military sexual trauma is assigned a peer support specialist during the claims process, unless the individual elects to not have such support. Under the bill, a peer support specialist must be trained as a victim advocate and may not be responsible for any part of adjudicating the individual's claim.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021 This bill temporarily imposes sanctions and other penalties on Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez and the government of Honduras for systemic corruption and human rights violations, with particular focus on the Honduran police and military. Specifically, the President must impose asset- and visa-blocking sanctions on Juan Orlando Hernandez due to his corrupt practices, including the use of the state apparatus to protect and facilitate drug trafficking. Additionally, the President must prohibit, within 30 days, the issuance of licenses to export defense articles and services and specified munitions to the Honduran police or military. The bill also (1) makes Honduras ineligible for security assistance to equip and train police and military, and (2) requires U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to oppose any loans for Honduran police or military. Furthermore, the Department of the Treasury must instruct U.S. leadership of international financial institutions and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to promote human rights due diligence and risk management in any loan, grant, policy, or strategy related to Honduras. The sanctions and other penalties put in place under this bill terminate in five years but may be lifted earlier if specified conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2021
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. In addition, the State Department must report on options for U.S. international efforts to promote the strengthening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. The State Department must also report on the status of the normalization of relations with Israel, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) evidence of steps taken by Arab governments toward permitting or encouraging normalized relations between their citizens or residents and Israeli citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2021
Consumer Protection and Recovery Act This bill authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to seek monetary relief in federal court from businesses that engage in unlawful commercial practices such as false advertising, consumer fraud, and anticompetitive conduct. Specifically, the FTC may seek restitution in these cases for losses, rescission or reformation of contracts, refund of money, return of property, or disgorgement of unjust enrichment. On April 22, 2021, the Supreme Court held in AMG Capital Management, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission that the Federal Trade Commission Act does not authorize the FTC to seek, or a court to award, such relief.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2021
Freedom from Price Gouging Act This bill requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for covered drugs under Medicare that cost $100 or more and for which the average manufacturer price increases faster than inflation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2021
Access to Contraception for Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2021 This bill addresses Department of Defense (DOD) contraceptive care and family planning services. Specifically, the bill prohibits cost-sharing with respect to TRICARE beneficiaries for specified prescription contraceptives. Additionally, the bill prohibits cost-sharing for TRICARE Select and TRICARE Prime beneficiaries in relation to any in-network method of contraception or contraceptive care (including with respect to insertion, removal, and follow-up), any sterilization procedure, or any related patient education or counseling service. The bill requires DOD to provide information on all methods of emergency contraception and care to sexual assault survivors at its medical treatment facilities. Upon request by a sexual assault survivor, DOD must provide such emergency contraception or a prescription for emergency contraception. Finally, DOD must establish a uniform standard curriculum for education programs on family planning for all members of the Armed Forces. Such education programs must be provided to service members during their first year of service and at other appropriate times, as determined by each military department.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2021
This resolution calls for the creation of a Green New Deal with the goals of achieving greenhouse gas and toxic emissions reductions needed to stay under 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming; establishing millions of high-wage union jobs and ensuring economic security for all; investing in infrastructure and industry; securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all; and promoting justice and equality. The resolution calls for accomplishment of these goals through a 10-year national mobilization effort. The resolution also enumerates the goals and projects of the mobilization effort, including building smart power grids (i.e., power grids that enable customers to reduce their power use during peak demand periods); upgrading all existing buildings and constructing new buildings to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency; removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation and agricultural sectors; cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites; ensuring businesspersons are free from unfair competition; and providing higher education, high-quality health care, and affordable, safe, and adequate housing to all.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2021
Integrity Committee Transparency Act of 2021 This bill addresses issues regarding inspectors general (IGs) and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Integrity Committee. The committee is charged with investigating allegations of wrongdoing against office of IG officials. The committee must notify Congress when an allegation of wrongdoing made by a Member of Congress is closed without referral for investigation. The bill requires CIGIE to report semiannually to Congress and the President on the activities of the committee. The bill requires the appointment of a former IG to the committee. An IG must refer to the committee any allegation of wrongdoing against that IG.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2021
Offshore Pipeline Safety Act This bill establishes requirements to address the environmental risks of decommissioned oil and gas pipelines on the seafloor. Specifically, the bill requires the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to finalize regulations proposed in 2007 related to offshore pipelines. The regulations must require owners of oil and gas pipelines to provide for biannual, third-party inspections of pipelines and to equip pipelines with leak detection systems or devices. Further, the BSEE must issue regulations to charge an annual fee on such owners for the purpose of providing the BSEE with funds to decommission or remove offshore pipelines in the event the owner files for bankruptcy. When determining whether to permit an owner to decommission such pipelines, the BSEE must consider the navigational hazards, any interferences with other uses of the Outer Continental Shelf, and the environmental impacts of the pipelines. In addition, the BSEE must continually monitor the condition and location of all oil and gas pipelines that have been decommissioned and remain in place. If the BSEE identifies an exposed segment of any active or decommissioned pipeline, then it must either remove the pipeline from the ocean or ensure it is properly decommissioned and does not pose a threat. If a segment of any active pipeline is exposed or shifts, then the BSEE must resecure the segment to the sea floor.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2021
IG Independence and Empowerment Act This bill addresses issues regarding inspectors general (IGs) and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Integrity Committee. The committee is charged with investigating allegations of wrongdoing against office of IG officials. The bill allows an IG to be removed only for cause, such as for documented malfeasance. Congress must be notified before an IG is placed on nonduty status. The bill requires the President to explain any failure to nominate an IG and adds provisions regarding acting IGs when an IG position is vacant. The committee must notify Congress when an allegation of wrongdoing made by a Member of Congress is closed without referral for investigation. The bill requires CIGIE to report semiannually to Congress and the President on the activities of the committee. The bill adds provisions regarding appointment of former IGs to the committee. An IG must refer to the committee any allegation of wrongdoing against that IG. The bill grants (1) IGs the authority to subpoena witnesses who are not currently government employees, and (2) the Department of Justice (DOJ) IG the authority to investigate wrongdoing by DOJ attorneys. The bill requires notification to Congress and CIGIE of an IG's ongoing investigations when the IG is placed on nonduty status. IGs must notify Congress if agencies deny access to requested information.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2021
Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act of 2021 or the ARC Act of 2021 This bill provides for coverage of peripheral artery disease screening tests without cost-sharing under Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance for certain at-risk individuals, and requires the development of certain educational programs and Medicare quality measures to reduce amputations relating to such disease.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Colorectal Cancer Payment Fairness Act This bill eliminates Medicare coinsurance requirements with respect to colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of the code billed for a resulting diagnosis or procedure, beginning in 2023 (rather than 2030).
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
FDA Modernization Act of 2021 This bill allows an applicant for market approval for a new drug to use methods other than animal testing to establish the drug's safety and effectiveness. Under this bill, these alternative methods may include cell-based assays, organ chips and microphysiological systems, sophisticated computer modeling, and other human biology-based test methods.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Fire Fighters and EMS Employer-Employee Cooperation Act This bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether a state substantially provides fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel the right to form and join a labor organization; recognition by fire and EMS employers of the employees' labor organization, agreement to bargain with the organization, and reduction of any agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum of understanding; the right to bargain over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment; and arbitration or other mechanisms to resolve an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. The bill makes the authority responsible for (1) determining the appropriateness of units for labor representation; (2) supervising elections; (3) conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; and (4) protecting the right of employees to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from doing so. An employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization may not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel an employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Tax Fairness for Workers Act This bill allows an above-the-line tax deduction for union dues and expenses. (An above-the-line deduction is subtracted from gross income and is available whether or not a taxpayer itemizes other deductions.) The bill also reinstates the miscellaneous itemized tax deduction for unreimbursed expenses attributable to the performance of services as an employee (Under current law, all miscellaneous itemized deductions are suspended through 2025).
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2021
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2021 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments, and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to increase state allocations of the credit; repeal the qualified census tract population cap; prohibit local approval and contribution requirements; increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households; increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies; eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits; and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2021
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2021 This bill provides federal workers' compensation to firefighters who contract certain illnesses as a result of their service. Specifically, the bill provides that (1) heart disease, lung disease, and specified cancers of federal employees employed in fire protection activities for at least 5 years are presumed to be proximately caused by such employment if the employee is diagnosed with the disease within 10 years of employment; and (2) the disability or death of the employee due to such disease is presumed to result from personal injury sustained in the performance of duty. These presumptions also apply to fire protection employees (regardless of the length of employment) who contract any communicable disease at the center of a designated pandemic or any chronic infectious disease that the Department of Labor determines is related to job-related hazards. An employee in fire protection activities is a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2021
Lowest Price for Patients Act This bill requires pharmacies to disclose to consumers when dispensing a prescription drug (1) the cost of the drug under the consumer's insurance plan, and (2) the cost of the drug without using their plan.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2021
Healthy Families Act This bill provides for paid and unpaid sick leave for employees to meet their own medical needs and those of their families. It requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide their employees with at least one hour of earned paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours of paid sick leave in a year. An employer with fewer than 15 employees may also provide the same amount of paid sick leave, but may opt out of such requirement, in which case such employer must provide its employees at least 56 hours of unpaid leave in a year. An employee may use sick leave for absences (1) resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition; (2) resulting from obtaining professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive medical care; (3) to care for a child, parent, spouse, a domestic partner, or other blood or close relative; and (4) resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of an employee's right to accrue sick leave as provided by this bill. An employee may take legal action to enforce the right to sick leave granted by this bill and the Department of Labor must investigate complaints of violations of the requirements of this bill. Labor is authorized to conduct a public awareness campaign to educate and inform the public of the requirements for paid sick leave provided by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2021
Orphaned Well Cleanup and Jobs Act of 2021 This bill establishes incentives and requirements to permanently plug orphaned (i.e., abandoned) oil and gas wells and clean up pollution leaking from such wells. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish grant programs to plug and clean up orphaned wells located on federal, state, tribal, and private land. Interior must also issue regulations that require each operator of an idled well on federal land to pay an annual, nonrefundable fee for each well. If the operator fails to pay the fee, then Interior may assess a civil penalty. Revenues generated from such fees must be used for activities related to cleaning up orphaned wells. Additionally, the bill requires the review of the adequacy of bonds or other financial arrangements for oil and gas development on public land leased from the federal government. Such bonds or financial arrangements are currently required to ensure developers have adequate financial resources to remediate and reclaim public land, water, or other resources after wells are abandoned or oil and gas development ceases.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2021
Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act of 2021 or the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act of 2021 This bill creates grants for state and local governments to combat hate crimes. It also authorizes additional penalties for hate crime offenses. Specifically, it establishes grants for states to create state-run hate crimes reporting hotlines. It also authorizes grants for states and local governments to implement the National Incident-Based Reporting System and to conduct law enforcement activities or crime reduction programs to prevent, address, or respond to hate crimes. Finally, in the case of an individual convicted of a hate crime offense and placed on supervised release, the bill allows a court to order that the individual participate in educational classes or community service as a condition of supervised release.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2021
This resolution calls on the United States and North Korea to begin the process of reuniting Korean Americans with their immediate relatives in North Korea. (Many families were divided after the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, which divided the Korean Peninsula into North and South Korea.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2021
Ensuring Safe Disposal of Coal Ash Act This bill updates the requirements related to state permit programs for the regulation of coal combustion residuals units, as administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Specifically, the EPA must revise its regulations related to approved state programs for regulating coal combustion residuals units to include any criteria necessary to protect human health and the environment, including the health of vulnerable or disproportionately exposed subpopulations. The regulation revisions must include specified requirements, for example, requiring meaningful public participation in the issuance and renewal of all permits or other prior approvals. The EPA must promulgate regulations that (1) set forth minimum requirements for state and federal coal combustion residuals permit programs, and (2) require owners of closed coal combustion residuals disposal sites to identify the locations of such sites and record the information in the public record to ensure that the locations are known and can be located in the future. Under the bill, the EPA must also implement a requirement for a public hearing in the approval process for establishing a state permit program; review state permit programs at least once every 5 years (the current requirement is once every 12 years); review such programs not later than one year after it revises applicable criteria for federal regulations related to coal combustion residuals units; and include a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 180 days, for a state to correct deficiencies with respect to its permit program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2021
Strengthening the Vaccines for Children Program Act of 2021 This bill modifies vaccination programs and coverage for children under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Specifically, the bill expands and otherwise modifies the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides free vaccinations to individuals 18 years of age or younger who are uninsured or underinsured (i.e., with limited or no insurance for vaccines), are eligible for Medicaid, or are American Indians or Alaskan Natives. The bill expands the program to include children enrolled in CHIP and temporarily provides for additional payments to incentivize provider participation. The Government Accountability Office must report on the related effects of the bill's changes. The bill also expands coverage under Medicaid and CHIP to include vaccine counseling and educational services for children and temporarily requires payments to be made at a rate that is no less than the rate under Medicare for equivalent services. It also temporarily increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for states that conduct culturally appropriate outreach regarding the benefits of vaccinations for children.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2021
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2021 This bill imposes a fee on the carbon content of fuels, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, or any other product derived from those fuels that will be used so as to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The fee is imposed on the producers or importers of the fuels and is equal to the greenhouse gas content of the fuel multiplied by the carbon fee rate. The rate begins at $15 per metric ton of CO2-e in 2021, increases by $10 each year, and is subject to further adjustments based on the progress in meeting specified emissions reduction targets. The bill includes exemptions for fuels used for agricultural or nonemitting purposes, exemptions for fuels used by the Armed Forces, rebates for facilities that capture and sequester carbon dioxide, and border adjustment provisions that require certain fees or refunds for carbon-intensive products that are exported or imported. The fees must be deposited into a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund and used for administrative expenses and dividend payments to U.S. citizens or lawful residents. The fees must be decommissioned when emissions levels and monthly dividend payments fall below specified levels.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2021
This joint resolution nullifies the rule finalized by the Social Security Administration on November 16, 2020, that outlines when its administrative appeals judges may hold hearings and issue decisions on individual cases. Currently, these judges serve an appellate function where they review, at the request of Social Security claimants, the decisions of the administrative law judges who issue decisions in individual cases.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2021
Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act This bill amends several appropriations laws to remove limitations on the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to conduct activities related to the administration of federal firearms laws. Specifically, the bill removes provisions that limit the use of firearms tracing data, limit the disclosure of data under the Freedom of Information Act, prohibit imposing a requirement that gun dealers conduct a physical inventory, prohibit consolidating or centralizing records maintained by federal firearm licensees (e.g., gun dealers), and require national instant criminal background check records to be destroyed within 24 hours.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2021
Teaching Asian Pacific American History Act This bill requires entities (e.g., institutions of higher education, libraries, and museums), in order to be eligible for certain grants administered by the Department of Education (ED), to include Asian Pacific American history in their teaching of American history. It also requires Asian Pacific American history to be included in tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Specifically, the bill mandates the inclusion of Asian Pacific American history as a required component of American history for such entities to be eligible for American History and Civics Academies' competitive grants. These grants support the establishment of (1) Presidential Academies for Teachers of American History and Civics, which offer workshops to teachers of American history and civics to strengthen their knowledge and prepare them to teach in these subjects; and (2) Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics, which support high school students in developing an understanding of these subjects. (Currently, Asian Pacific American history is not a required component of American history for either academy.) In addition, ED must give priority to grant applicants that align their activities with programs and resources of the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American Center. The bill also requires the inclusion of Asian Pacific American history in tests administered by the NAEP, which measures student academic achievement in various subjects.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act This bill authorizes appropriations through FY2026 to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide parking for commercial motor vehicles on the federal-aid highway system. DOT must provide competitive grants to states, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and certain public agencies for projects that provide parking for commercial motor vehicles on federal-aid highways or on a facility with reasonable access to such a highway or a freight facility. The federal share for a project carried out in accordance with the bill must be 100%.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 This bill sets forth requirements and incentives to reduce the production of a variety of products and materials, including plastics, and increase efforts to collect, recycle, or compost products and materials. The bill makes certain producers of products (e.g., packaging, paper, single-use products, beverage containers, or food service products) fiscally responsible for collecting, managing, and recycling or composting the products after consumer use. In addition, the bill establishes (1) minimum percentages of products that must be reused, recycled, or composted; and (2) an increasing percentage of recycled content that must be contained in beverage containers. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the bill phases out a variety of single-use products, such as plastic utensils. The bill also sets forth provisions to encourage the reduction of single-use products, including by establishing programs to refund consumers for returning beverage containers and by establishing a tax on carryout bags. The bill creates a temporary moratorium on new or expanded permits for certain facilities that manufacture plastics until regulations are updated to address pollution from the facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must publish guidelines for a national standardized labeling system for recycling and composting receptacles. Producers must include labels on their products that are easy to read and indicate whether the products are recyclable, compostable, or reusable. The EPA must also ensure that certain clothes washers have filtration units as required by this bill. Finally, the bill establishes limitations on the export of plastic waste to other countries.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Keeping Our Promises Act This bill expands the list of diseases that are provided a presumption of service-connection for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The bill extends through September 30, 2030, the requirement for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make determinations and submissions related to the connection between herbicide exposure and occurrence of disease. Additionally, the VA is prohibited from taking the costs of compensation into account when determining the association between exposure to an herbicide agent and occurrence of a disease. The bill requires the VA to determine within 120 days (currently 60) whether a presumption of service-connection is warranted for diseases covered by a National Academy of Sciences report.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
This joint resolution nullifies the Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review rule published by the Environmental Protection Agency on September 14, 2020. The rule finalized amendments to new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act for the oil and natural gas sector, such as an amendment that removed limitations on methane emissions from such sector.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 This bill imposes certain safety requirements on infant and toddler food. The bill establishes maximum levels of certain toxic elements (cadmium, and lead, mercury, and inorganic arsenic) allowable in infant and toddler food, defined as food intended to be sold for children up to 36 months old. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall periodically review and, if necessary, further lower these levels. The FDA may also establish limits on other toxic elements upon review of relevant health and dietary data. Furthermore, facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold infant and toddler food must have certain controls and plans to ensure that their food complies with the limits on toxic elements established by this bill. Such facilities shall also make publicly available certain information, including results from tests for toxic elements in their infant and toddler foods. The bill also expands the FDA's authority to require a recall of adulterated or misbranded food to include infant and toddler food that exceeds limits on toxic elements. The Centers for Disease Control shall carry out a public awareness campaign about the risks of toxic elements in infant and toddler food. The FDA shall commission research on agricultural methods that minimize levels of toxic heavy metals in crops.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 This bill increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals, including hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas. Current law provides for an increase of up to 200 positions per fiscal year beginning in FY2023, with a total increase of 1,000 positions; each hospital may receive up to 25 additional positions. The bill provides for an additional increase of 2,000 positions per fiscal year from FY2023-FY2029; during this period, each hospital may receive up to 75 additional positions in total under the bill and current law. Additionally, one-third of the positions that are made available under the bill must be allocated to hospitals that are already operating above applicable resident limits. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on strategies to increase the diversity of the health professional workforce, including with respect to representation from rural, low-income, and minority communities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree or, if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Our Homes, Our Votes Act This bill facilitates voter registration for residents of certain federally assisted housing for the purpose of federal elections. Specifically, the bill requires each lease and annual income recertification for such housing that is administered by a public housing agency (PHA) to include a voter registration application. A PHA must send any completed application to state election officials. The bill also treats owners of federally assisted housing as voter registration agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act of 2021 This bill limits or repeals certain fossil fuel oil and gas subsidies for oil companies. Specifically, it increases to seven years the amortization period for geological and geophysical expenditures; repeals the tax credits for producing oil and gas from marginal wells and for enhanced oil recovery; repeals the tax deduction for the intangible drilling and development costs of oil and gas wells; repeals percentage depletion; repeals the tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenses; repeals the passive loss exception for working interests in oil and gas property; denies the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities for oil and gas activities; prohibits the use of the last-in, first-out (LIFO) accounting method by major integrated oil companies; limits the foreign tax credit for dual capacity taxpayers (i.e., taxpayers who are subject to a levy of a foreign country or U.S. possession and receive specific economic benefits from such country or possession); and expands the definition of crude oil for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum and petroleum products to include any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture (tar sands), and any oil derived from kerogen-bearing sources (oil shale).
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2021
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act of 2021 or the EACH Act of 2021 This bill requires federal health care programs to provide coverage for abortion services and requires federal facilities to provide access to those services. The bill also permits qualified health plans to use funds attributable to premium tax credits and reduced cost sharing assistance to pay for abortion services.
![Official portrait of Rep. Porter, Katie [D-CA-47]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000618_200.jpg)